Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

Glass: Large Tulip Purchased at: Circle Liquors Super Saver, Pennington, NJ Price: $8.99 Size: 25.4 fl oz ABV: 9.5% IBU: n/a Estimated Calories: 400 C RateBeer Rating: 99 Aural: opening is explosive, but contained over a few minutes of caution. carbonation is very active and audible, pour after calming is beautiful and quiet. Aroma 8 out of 10 Intensity: medium Balance: sweet Impression: inviting Malt Aroma: grain bread sweet toast nut Hops Aroma: earth floral herbal Other Aroma: fruit cherry, peach, Notes: inviting, nice, fruity, mild Appearance 4 out of 5 Color: dark Clarity: quite cloudy Head Retention: poor Notes: head dissipates almost instantly to absolutely nothing. The body is quite beautiful though - murky, cloudy, and reminds you of what it might be like to swim in the dirty seas of countries that have no concern for pollution. Scary, in a way. Flavor 9 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: between sweet and bitter. Interesting. Impression: nice Malt Flavor: rice, Italian bread, whole wheat toast, walnut Hops Flavor: soil, dying flowers, tea Other: cherry, celery, peas Notes: A very interesting, dark taste. Full bodied, deeply flavorful, and not easily drank. Alcohol is expertly hidden. Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: sticky, warming Body: full Carbonation: highly carbonated, like seltzer Finish Length: long Intensity: medium Balance: more bitter Notes: A bit of ash, yeast, and tea in the finish. Again, quite interesting mix of fruit, texture, and color. General Impression: 17 out of 20 Craftmanship: excellent Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: liked quite a bit Notes: A once in a while treat - not one of my favorites, but glad to have tried it as a specialty. Address : <http://beercritic.wordpress.com/>

33cl bottle. Pours a hazy brown and amber colour with medium sediment. Medium off-white head that settles into a ring. Soft aroma of apricot, malt and alcohol. Really pleasant flavour that just sweet enough but still balanced well. Just a great BSA.

bottle, and a bit of a gusher. pours with a thick fizzy tan head that quickly fades to a moderately thick foamy tan head. pretty clear amber, except for the giant chunks of floaties just zooming around in the glass. brilliant vinous smell, with all sorts of crazy spicy fruit esters coming out: apples, pears, cherries, tangerines?, apricots?, raisins, maybe a bit of grapefruit. i swear every time i smell it, i pick out a different note, and i don’t have to hold it anywhere near my nose to get a good whiff. all this is piloted by a solid brown sugar/caramel malt scent. the same caramel malt dominates, and gains a bit of a nutty flavor as well, and is backed up by another bucket of spicy fruit esters, with raisins taking the lead, backed up by a nice cherry note, with dozens of others mingling in the background. fairly sweet finish, with a very subtle tartness, and a barely perceptible bitter tingle. relatively full-bodied, with a sort of thick, creamy mouthfeel that doesn’t seem like carbonation has much part in (it does, but the bubbles are so small they go almost unnoticed). this is some seriously good shit. incredibly complex smell, great flavor, one of my favorites. chewing on chunks of yeast might turn off some people, though.

Pours a light brown with an unbelievable amount of sediment and a good, thick beige head. No kidding - there were dark spots on top of the head where it actually held up some of the sediment as it poured. Smells like a dream. Sweet and tart fruits - apples, plums, golden raisins, figs and a bit of not-quite-ripe strawberry. Yeast, light malts (much like light molasses), and baking spices - cloves and allspice. One last thing in the aroma that took a while to pick out - honest to God, it smells a bit like one of those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. Flavor isn’t quite as complex as the nose. The yeast comes through heavily (could have guessed from the floaties), and it’s a little more tart than sweet. The darker of the fruits still show through, and the taste does round out as it warms, adding toasted almonds (they were right on about that). This one is fantastically complex - the best I’ve had from Abbaye des Rocs.

Thick and creamy off-brown head. Cloudy orange/brown color. Smell... medley of fruit. Taste is lightly sweet and malty with no overwhelming aftertaste. Alcohol is wonderfully well hidden. They did a great job there! Excellent, bubbly palate. Light spice... molasses is more present toward the end of the glass... delectable! Unfiltered: giving extra points for that! Wonderful from first to last sip. Love it!

Pours brown with a creamy off-white head. Great aroma, caramel and tons of dried, dark fruit. Flavor of more dark fruit, with a bit of roastiness on the finish. Maybe some nuts in there too. Oh and spiciness. Fantastically complex. Great on the palate, hides its alcohol very well. Awesome beer.

Bottle 750. Another solid brew. Pours a dark brown body with a tan head. Aroma/flavor is sweet malt, spices, caramel malts, raisins, spicy yeast, and a mild etoh warming in the finish. great.

Bottled at Monks in Philly. This is an awesome beer. Pours a dark brownish amber body with tan head and tons of sediment floating around. Taste is dark fruits and yeast - very smooth and drinkable considering the 9.5%.